February 24, 2013

Mindfulness Lessons: Packaged along with your MBA, paycheck at Google, General Mills

Mindfulness, or the meditation practice which trains the mind to focus on the present, is becoming more accepted and acceptable in business.

The LA TIMES reports that a course in it is, for example, offered at the Drucker School of Management as well as corporations such as Google and General Mills. The fact that Steve Jobs embraced mindfulness to stay centered at Apple has, of course, helped this ancient art be taken seriously in capitalism. Also, in art circles, many know that the Beatles practiced meditation. Their lyrics reflected the tenets of Eastern philosophy such as "let it be."

However, mindfulness still remains in the early adopter phase among professionals. When I listen to clients complain about stress, I bite my tongue and don't share what I am gaining at the New Haven Zen Center. I have a hunch they would perceive my story as something rooted in mysticism, not science. They are men and women brought up on the scientific method, along with a growing awe of math (think predictive analytics in the investment industry).

Ironically, the benefits from meditation have been researched and documented by neuroscientists. Actually this is a growing niche in academic circles. When I had my private session with New Haven Zen Center leader Ken Kessel he explained the evidence that mindfulness changes metabolic activity.

What I have noticed is that those changes might correlate with my new-found ability to pause before I do something. That has been a game-changer in earning a living in the glut field of writing. Instead of leaping to answer a question from a prospect, I stop, reflect on it a few moments, and reframe it to become a platform for how I can sell myself. Recently, out of 300 and then the 100 who had replied to two help-wanted ads for ghostwriters, I nailed down both assignments.

Mindfulness also cushions rejection. Last week I assumed (we never do that in the Kwan Um school of zen) I had gotten a lucrative assignment. Turns out I was wrong. For about 10 hours I fell apart. Then I contacted a zen monk who walked me through surrendering to whatever. At the end of that stroll, I didn't even have to conjure up negative feelings about those who had given me the thumbs down.

Why do too many professionals still resist trying out mindfulness? Fear of unknown methodology, probably.